William Rufus and Henry I
Themes
William Rufus and his Consolidation of Power
Greatest challenges and threats
Relations with the Church
William’s Death- accident or purposeful
How far was Henry I accepted as ruler
, Source Provenance- Major Monks, Writers, Chronicles
Eadmer
● Englishman born in 1064, was brought up in the Monastery of Christchurch, Canterbury.
● From 1093 was the constant companion of Anselm.
● Completed two major works Vita Sancti Anselmi (The Life of St Anselm) and Historia
Novorum ( A History of Recent Events) largely by 1135.
● Main purpose was to describe the Life of Archbishop of Canterbury Anselm.
● He hated William Rufus for his treatment of Anslem and deplored the Norman Conquest.
Geoffrei Gaimar
● Little known of his origins- writing probably during the early part of Stephens’s reign for
Constance, his patroness who was the wife of Ralph Fitz Gilbert.
● He was generally in agreement with the Latin chroniclers- William I’s conquest was a just
assertion of his right, however sympathises rebels (e.g. Hereward the Wake’s rebellion a
protest against his unjust disinheriting)
● Favourable view of William Rufus- praising his knightly and martial skills
● One of the few secular writers at the time- and stands apart from highly critical monks
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
● Set of annals compiled and edited by different monastic sets.
● Primary concerned with the peace and stability of England.
● Purpose: To persuade the King to act properly
● Disliked William’s simon
● Happy with his action against rebels in 1095 and his diplomacy with Malcolm- cares about
England as a whole and its security.
● A, and D versions got rid of by William the Conqueror, so the E version measured when
about the King
● Written contemporaneously
William of Malmesbury
● Monk born in 1095, died in 1143
● ‘Historia novella’ patron was Mathilda’s half-brother, Robert Earl of Gloucester- Henry I
family
● Based in Wiltshire- concerned with Wales
Themes
William Rufus and his Consolidation of Power
Greatest challenges and threats
Relations with the Church
William’s Death- accident or purposeful
How far was Henry I accepted as ruler
, Source Provenance- Major Monks, Writers, Chronicles
Eadmer
● Englishman born in 1064, was brought up in the Monastery of Christchurch, Canterbury.
● From 1093 was the constant companion of Anselm.
● Completed two major works Vita Sancti Anselmi (The Life of St Anselm) and Historia
Novorum ( A History of Recent Events) largely by 1135.
● Main purpose was to describe the Life of Archbishop of Canterbury Anselm.
● He hated William Rufus for his treatment of Anslem and deplored the Norman Conquest.
Geoffrei Gaimar
● Little known of his origins- writing probably during the early part of Stephens’s reign for
Constance, his patroness who was the wife of Ralph Fitz Gilbert.
● He was generally in agreement with the Latin chroniclers- William I’s conquest was a just
assertion of his right, however sympathises rebels (e.g. Hereward the Wake’s rebellion a
protest against his unjust disinheriting)
● Favourable view of William Rufus- praising his knightly and martial skills
● One of the few secular writers at the time- and stands apart from highly critical monks
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
● Set of annals compiled and edited by different monastic sets.
● Primary concerned with the peace and stability of England.
● Purpose: To persuade the King to act properly
● Disliked William’s simon
● Happy with his action against rebels in 1095 and his diplomacy with Malcolm- cares about
England as a whole and its security.
● A, and D versions got rid of by William the Conqueror, so the E version measured when
about the King
● Written contemporaneously
William of Malmesbury
● Monk born in 1095, died in 1143
● ‘Historia novella’ patron was Mathilda’s half-brother, Robert Earl of Gloucester- Henry I
family
● Based in Wiltshire- concerned with Wales
